MATTHEW 5:1-12
ONCE THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO LIVED IN LUXURY AND WAS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED TO HIS EVERY NEED. WHEN HE WAS OLD, SOMEONE ASKED HIM IF HE HAD EVER BEEN UNHAPPY. “UNHAPPY?” HE REPLIED. “DURING MY ENTIRE LIFE, I WAS TRULY HAPPY ONLY ONCE ON A TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHEN I WAS TWENTY-FOUR.”.
WE SOMETIMES FORGET THAT JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT HAPPINESS, HAPPINESS IN THE NEXT LIFE OF COURSE, BUT HAPPINESS IN THIS WORLD AS WELL. JESUS SPENDS A LOT OF TIME TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES AND US HOW TO BE HAPPY. AND WE ARE LIKE THE DISCIPLES, WE DON'T GET IT, WE MISS THE POINT.
THE BEATITUDES WE HEAR TODAY ARE A CASE IN POINT. THE WORDS “BLESSED” OR “HOW BLEST” COULD JUST AS EASILY BE TRANSLATED “HAPPY”, OR EVEN “DELIGHTED”. AND SO IF JESUS TELLS US THAT WE WILL BE DELIGHTED IF WE ARE POOR IN SPIRIT, IF WE HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE, IF WE MOURN, IF WE ARE PERSECUTED, WE SHOULD LISTEN. BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE NOT AS HAPPY AS WE WOULD LIKE TO BE. THINGS THAT WE THINK ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO US GENERALLY FALL SHORT. WE PURSUE HAPPINESS, THAT IS OUR RIGHT; BUT IF WE ARE ADULTS, WE PROBABLY HAVE RESIGNED OURSELVES TO THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY THAT THIS IS AS GOOD AS ITS GOING TO GET.
GOD WANTS US TO BE HAPPY, NOT JUST IN HEAVEN, BUT RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. GOD WANTS US TO BE SO HAPPY THAT THERE WILL BE NO ROOM FOR SADNESS. HE IS, AFTER ALL, OUR FATHER, AND WHAT FATHER DOES NOT WANT HIS CHILDREN TO BE HAPPY?
YOU AND I CAN EASILY REMEMBER WHEN WE WEREN'T HAPPY. WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHEATED; WE MIGHT HAVE DISCOVERED THAT A FRIEND BETRAYED US. WE MIGHT HAVE COMPARED OURSELVES TO SOMEONE WE ENVIED AND FELT SAD THAT WE COULD NOT BE WHAT THAT PERSON WAS. SOMETIMES WE FIND OURSELVES RUMINATING ABOUT HOW OUR LIFE HAS TURNED OUT SO POORLY, COMPARED TO WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.
IF WE THINK ABOUT THOSE TIMES WE HAVE BEEN UNHAPPY, THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IS THAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES. IN FACT, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY WE CAN BE UNHAPPY, AND THAT IS WHEN OUR ATTENTION TURNS IN ON OURSELVES.
BUT WHEN WE ARE FOCUSING ON OTHER PEOPLE OR ON GOD, THEN WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BEING HAPPY. AND THAT IS WHAT JESUS IS POINTING OUT WHEN HE GIVES US THE BEATITUDES.
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO PAY NO ATTENTION TO POSSESSIONS, TO TITLES, TO HONORS – BECAUSE THEY ARE OPEN TO ALL THE GIFTS WHICH GOD HAS IN STORE FOR THEM.
BLESSED ARE THE SORROWING – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO TRULY ARE ABLE TO MOURN – BECAUSE MOURNING, SORROWING, IS OUR RECOGNITION OF OUR HELPLESSNESS, OUR WORTHLESSNESS. MOST OF THE TIME WE MOURN, OR WE ARE SORROWFUL, BECAUSE SOMETHING COMES ALONG THAT DIMINISHES US, OR CAUSES PAIN. THAT IS NOT WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT. TRUE MOURNING COMES FROM KNOWING HOW BADLY WE HAVE FAILED IN WHAT GOD EXPECTS OF US. AND UNTIL WE REACH THIS REALIZATION, GOD WILL NOT MOVE INTO OUR LIVES AND COMFORT US WITH HIS TRANSFORMING POWER.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, THE LOWLY – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO REALIZE THAT THERE IS NOTHING IN THEIR LIVES THAT THEY DESERVE, THAT EVERY BLESSING IS A GIFT. MOST OF US REGARD THINGS AS “OURS” AND ARE NEVER HAPPY BECAUSE WHEN WE LOSE SOMETHING WE SEE THAT IT DIMINISHES US; BUT JESUS SAYS THAT HAPPINESS IS WHEN WE SEE THAT EVERYTHING IS AN UNDESERVED GIFT,EVEN THE BREATH OF AIR THAT WE BREATH, AND IF WE SEE THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING SHOWERED WITH GIFTS, HOW CAN WE NOT BE HAPPY.
AND WHEN YOU READ THROUGH EACH OF THE BEATITUDES, THE SAME THEME COMES THROUGH; IF WE LOSE OURSELVES IN A CAUSE, IF WE IDENTIFY WITH SOMETHING BIGGER THAN US, IF WE MOVE OUT OF OURSELVES AND QUITE WORRYING ABOUT OUR OWN PRIDE, OUR OWN POSSESSIONS, IF WE QUIT PAYING ATTENTION TO MY THINGS, MY FEELINGS, A STRANGE THING WILL HAPPEN. IF WE QUIT LOOKING FOR OUR HAPPINESS, AND TRY TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE HAPPY BY REMOVING THE BARRIERS TO THEIR HAPPINESS, WHY THEN WE BECOME TRULY HAPPY.
AND THE MOST AMAZING THING OF ALL IS THAT EVEN IF WE ARE PERSECUTED AND PUT TO DEATH BECAUSE WE ARE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, WE KNOW THAT WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN GOD'S PRESENCE, SO EVEN IF WE ARE IN GREAT PHYSICAL PAIN, HAPPINESS CANNOT BE TAKEN FROM US.
AND THAT IS THE SECRET THAT JESUS IMPARTS TO THOSE WHO WOULD LISTEN. IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY, DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE. IF YOU WANT TO BE UNHAPPY, DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF. IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE DOING THINGS FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY. IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE WORRYING ABOUT HOW PEOPLE TREAT YOU, BEING CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE GIVEN THE HONOR TO WHICH YOU ARE DUE, ALWAYS ON GUARD AGAINST BEING DISRESPECTED, WHY THEN, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE UNHAPPY.
ARE YOU AND I AS HAPPY AS WE COULD BE? I DOUBT IT. I'M CERTAINLY NOT. DO YOU AND I HAVE THE COURAGE TO LISTEN AND FOLLOW THE SIMPLE TEACHING OF JESUS? I FEAR THAT I HAVE A WAY TO GO. HOPEFULLY, YOU HAVE LESS THAN I. BUT HAPPINESS IS EASY. AND IF WE ARE NOT HAPPY, WE HAVE ONLY OURSELVES TO BLAME. AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT WE HAVE TO LEARN THIS LESSON COMPLETELY WHILE ON EARTH OR IN PURGATORY IF WE ARE EVER TO ENJOY HEAVEN – WE HAVE TO LEARN THAT HAPPINESS CANNOT BE FOUND BY PLEASING OURSELVES, ONLY BY TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO THOSE AROUND US.
SO THIS WEEK AS WE PREPARE FOR LENT, LET US THINK ABOUT THE BEATITUDES, JESUS' GUIDE TO HAPPINESS, AND WHETHER WE COULD LIFE THEM A LITTLE BETTER THAN WE ARE DOING. BECAUSE JESUS HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD THAT WE WILL TRULY FIND HAPPINESS, ABUNDANT LIFE, IF WE JUST FOLLOW HIS DIRECTIONS.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 4:13-23
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO NOTICE THAT JESUS BEGINS HIS PREACHING MINISTRY IN THE AREA AROUND THE UPPER PART OF THE SEA OF GALILEE – THE LAND OF ZEBULON AND NAPHTALI. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN RIVER, DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF PALESTINE, NOT FAR FROM JERUSALEM. HIS HOME WAS IN NAZARETH, AND NOW HE MOVES TO CAPARNUM, A SEASIDE VILLAGE.
THERE IS QUITE A CONTRAST BETWEEN JUDEA AND THE LAND WHERE JESUS BEGAN HIS MINISTRY. JUDEA WAS ALMOST ALL JERUSALEM; THERE WERE LITTLE TOWNS AS WELL – BETHLEHEM, EMMAUS, BETHANY, JERICHO – BUT THE SITUATION WAS SOMETHING LIKE RHODE ISLAND – THERE'S NOT A LOT THERE ONCE YOU GET OUTSIDE OF PROVIDENCE AND IT'S SUBURBS. THE BUSINESS OF JUDEA WAS JERUSALEM. AND THE BUSINESS OF JERUSALEM WAS RELIGION. THE HOLIEST AND MOST COMMITTED JEWS LIVED THERE.
IN GALILEE, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND ESPECIALLY IN CAPARNUM, IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT. CAPARNUM AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS WERE POPULATED BY JEWS, SAMARITANS, AND PAGANS. AND IF YOU WERE A RELIGIOUS JEW, YOU PROBABLY ENVIED THOSE PEOPLE IN JUDEA WHO HAD A MUCH EASIER TIME PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, OBSERVING THE PURITY RITUALS, AND BEING ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICES ANY TIME THEY FELT LIKE IT. IN FACT, TO THE JEWS OF JERUSALEM, THE JEWS IN CAPARNUM WERE VIEWED AS UNSOPHISTICATED, ILLITERATE, DIRTY, AND HAVING VERY SHORT FUSES. I GUESS THAT IS A UNIVERSAL TRAIT – EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE TO LOOK DOWN ON. IN MONTANA, WE USED TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT NORTH DAKOTANS.
MATTHEW SAYS JESUS WENT TO THAT AREA TO FULFILL A PROPHECY OF ISAIAH, WHICH HE QUOTES, AND OF COURSE HIS READERS WOULD IMMEDIATELY SEE THAT THOSE GALILEANS WERE PEOPLE LIVING IN DARKNESS, COMPARED TO JEWS LIVING IN JERUSALEM, OR IN SOME OF THE CITIES OF THE EMPIRE WHERE THE JEWISH POPULATION WAS URBAN AND SOPHISTICATED.
BUT JESUS DIDN'T GO THERE JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO FULFILL A PROPHECY. I THINK HE WENT THERE BECAUSE THERE WAS A MUCH BETTER CHANCE THAT THOSE PEOPLE WOULD ACCEPT HIS MESSAGE, AS OPPOSED TO THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA – AND OF COURSE, TIME SHOWED THAT HE WAS CORRECT. IN JERUSALEM, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVED OFF THE TOURIST TRADE, OR MADE MONEY SELLING SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS, OR WERE EMPLOYED BY THE KING OR THE HIGH PRIEST. WHITE COLLAR WORKERS. THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA HAD THE TEMPLE AND THE PRIESTHOOD AND PEOPLE WHO COULD READ AND INTERPRET THE SACRED WRITINGS – WHAT DID THEY NEED OF A WANDERING PREACHER?
THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTH UNDERSTOOD THEMSELVES TO BE WANTING IN NEARLY EVERYTHING RELIGIOUS; ABOUT ALL THEY COULD DO WAS GET DOWN TO THE TEMPLE ONCE A YEAR TO OFFER A SACRIFICE, AND THE REST OF THE TIME THEY TRIED TO KEEP THE SABBATH AS BEST THEY COULD. IN THE NORTH, ALMOST EVERY JEW WAS EMPLOYED IN HARD PHYSICAL LABOR IN JOBS THAT WERE LOOKED DOWN ON – FISHING, CARPENTRY, FARMING, HERDING SHEEP, AND THERE WERE MANY DAY LABORERS, LIVING HAND TO MOUTH, EATING WHEN THEY WORKED, STARVING WHEN THEY COULDN'T FIND WORK.
SO JESUS REJECTED THOSE WHO THOUGHT THEY COULDN'T BE IMPROVED, AND WENT TO THOSE WHO KNEW THEY LACKED SOMETHING. AND IT WAS IN GALILEE THAT DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM IN DROVES.
UNTIL YOU ARE CONSCIOUS OF HOW MUCH YOU ARE LACKING, UNTIL YOU SEE THAT YOU LIVE IN A KIND OF DARKNESS, UNTIL YOU CAN TRULY SEE HOW HOPELESS YOU ARE BY YOURSELF, UNTIL THEN, IT IS HARD TO HEAR JESUS' MESSAGE. HE SAYS “REPENT, REFORM YOUR LIVES, TURN AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION IN WHICH YOU ARE GOING”. BUT WHO WILL LISTEN IF HE OR SHE THINKS THINGS ARE ABOUT 90% PERFECT THE WAY THEY ARE? HE SAYS, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND,” BUT IF WE EAT WELL EVERY DAY, DRIVE A LATE MODEL CAR, HAVE A 50 INCH FLAT PANEL TELEVISION, NEVER REALLY EXPERIENCE COLD OR BAD WEATHER FROM INSIDE OUR WARM HOUSES, AND ENJOY GOOD HEALTH, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN MAY NOT BE ALL THAT ATTRACTIVE. IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION. A REASON FOR THIS IS THAT LIFE IS PRETTY GOOD, AND PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO COME BACK HERE, NOT GO OFF TO A HEAVEN WHICH BY COMPARISON DOESN'T SEEM THAT MUCH BETTER.
THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA, EVEN THOUGH VERY RELIGIOUS, WERE IN GENERAL, FULL OF THEMSELVES. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ROOM IN THEM FOR GOD TO OPERATE. THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH WERE CONSCIOUS OF THEIR EMPTINESS, AND IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, GOD CAN DO WONDERFUL THINGS – AS JESUS DEMONSTRATED IN THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES THROUGH WHICH HE TRAVELED.
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY, MANY PEOPLE IN OUR PARISH, I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, AND I'M NOT EXCLUDING MYSELF, WHO ARE QUITE COMFORTABLE, WHO SEE THEMSELVES AS BASICALLY ALL RIGHT, NOT IN NEED OF MUCH IMPROVEMENT, AND IF YOU WERE TO ASK THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO CHANGE, THEY WOULD THINK A LONG TIME AND THEN GIVE YOU A STATEMENT LIKE “I'M A LITTLE SHORT TEMPERED,” OR “I PROBABLY DON'T PRAY ENOUGH.” AND THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR GOD TO WORK.
BUT ONCE WE SEE OUR OWN EMPTINESS, HOW FAR WE ARE FROM WHAT WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE COULD BE, HOW MUCH WE NEED TO BE FILLED UP BE GOD AND EMPTIED OUT OF OURSELVES, AND THEN WE TURN AWAY FROM ALL THOSE THINGS, ALL THAT STUFF, AND TURN TOWARDS GOD, WE WILL BE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN DARKNESS WHO SEE A GREAT LIGHT, AND JESUS WILL MOVE AMONG US HEALING THE SICK AND BRINGING THE KINGDOM INTO OUR MIDST.
LET US PRAY TODAY THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO LEAVE JERUSALEM AND GO TO CAPARNUM, WHERE JESUS CAN HEAL OUR SICKNESS AND GIVE SIGHT TO OUR BLINDNESS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO NOTICE THAT JESUS BEGINS HIS PREACHING MINISTRY IN THE AREA AROUND THE UPPER PART OF THE SEA OF GALILEE – THE LAND OF ZEBULON AND NAPHTALI. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN RIVER, DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF PALESTINE, NOT FAR FROM JERUSALEM. HIS HOME WAS IN NAZARETH, AND NOW HE MOVES TO CAPARNUM, A SEASIDE VILLAGE.
THERE IS QUITE A CONTRAST BETWEEN JUDEA AND THE LAND WHERE JESUS BEGAN HIS MINISTRY. JUDEA WAS ALMOST ALL JERUSALEM; THERE WERE LITTLE TOWNS AS WELL – BETHLEHEM, EMMAUS, BETHANY, JERICHO – BUT THE SITUATION WAS SOMETHING LIKE RHODE ISLAND – THERE'S NOT A LOT THERE ONCE YOU GET OUTSIDE OF PROVIDENCE AND IT'S SUBURBS. THE BUSINESS OF JUDEA WAS JERUSALEM. AND THE BUSINESS OF JERUSALEM WAS RELIGION. THE HOLIEST AND MOST COMMITTED JEWS LIVED THERE.
IN GALILEE, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND ESPECIALLY IN CAPARNUM, IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT. CAPARNUM AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS WERE POPULATED BY JEWS, SAMARITANS, AND PAGANS. AND IF YOU WERE A RELIGIOUS JEW, YOU PROBABLY ENVIED THOSE PEOPLE IN JUDEA WHO HAD A MUCH EASIER TIME PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, OBSERVING THE PURITY RITUALS, AND BEING ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICES ANY TIME THEY FELT LIKE IT. IN FACT, TO THE JEWS OF JERUSALEM, THE JEWS IN CAPARNUM WERE VIEWED AS UNSOPHISTICATED, ILLITERATE, DIRTY, AND HAVING VERY SHORT FUSES. I GUESS THAT IS A UNIVERSAL TRAIT – EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE TO LOOK DOWN ON. IN MONTANA, WE USED TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT NORTH DAKOTANS.
MATTHEW SAYS JESUS WENT TO THAT AREA TO FULFILL A PROPHECY OF ISAIAH, WHICH HE QUOTES, AND OF COURSE HIS READERS WOULD IMMEDIATELY SEE THAT THOSE GALILEANS WERE PEOPLE LIVING IN DARKNESS, COMPARED TO JEWS LIVING IN JERUSALEM, OR IN SOME OF THE CITIES OF THE EMPIRE WHERE THE JEWISH POPULATION WAS URBAN AND SOPHISTICATED.
BUT JESUS DIDN'T GO THERE JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO FULFILL A PROPHECY. I THINK HE WENT THERE BECAUSE THERE WAS A MUCH BETTER CHANCE THAT THOSE PEOPLE WOULD ACCEPT HIS MESSAGE, AS OPPOSED TO THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA – AND OF COURSE, TIME SHOWED THAT HE WAS CORRECT. IN JERUSALEM, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVED OFF THE TOURIST TRADE, OR MADE MONEY SELLING SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS, OR WERE EMPLOYED BY THE KING OR THE HIGH PRIEST. WHITE COLLAR WORKERS. THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA HAD THE TEMPLE AND THE PRIESTHOOD AND PEOPLE WHO COULD READ AND INTERPRET THE SACRED WRITINGS – WHAT DID THEY NEED OF A WANDERING PREACHER?
THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTH UNDERSTOOD THEMSELVES TO BE WANTING IN NEARLY EVERYTHING RELIGIOUS; ABOUT ALL THEY COULD DO WAS GET DOWN TO THE TEMPLE ONCE A YEAR TO OFFER A SACRIFICE, AND THE REST OF THE TIME THEY TRIED TO KEEP THE SABBATH AS BEST THEY COULD. IN THE NORTH, ALMOST EVERY JEW WAS EMPLOYED IN HARD PHYSICAL LABOR IN JOBS THAT WERE LOOKED DOWN ON – FISHING, CARPENTRY, FARMING, HERDING SHEEP, AND THERE WERE MANY DAY LABORERS, LIVING HAND TO MOUTH, EATING WHEN THEY WORKED, STARVING WHEN THEY COULDN'T FIND WORK.
SO JESUS REJECTED THOSE WHO THOUGHT THEY COULDN'T BE IMPROVED, AND WENT TO THOSE WHO KNEW THEY LACKED SOMETHING. AND IT WAS IN GALILEE THAT DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM IN DROVES.
UNTIL YOU ARE CONSCIOUS OF HOW MUCH YOU ARE LACKING, UNTIL YOU SEE THAT YOU LIVE IN A KIND OF DARKNESS, UNTIL YOU CAN TRULY SEE HOW HOPELESS YOU ARE BY YOURSELF, UNTIL THEN, IT IS HARD TO HEAR JESUS' MESSAGE. HE SAYS “REPENT, REFORM YOUR LIVES, TURN AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION IN WHICH YOU ARE GOING”. BUT WHO WILL LISTEN IF HE OR SHE THINKS THINGS ARE ABOUT 90% PERFECT THE WAY THEY ARE? HE SAYS, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND,” BUT IF WE EAT WELL EVERY DAY, DRIVE A LATE MODEL CAR, HAVE A 50 INCH FLAT PANEL TELEVISION, NEVER REALLY EXPERIENCE COLD OR BAD WEATHER FROM INSIDE OUR WARM HOUSES, AND ENJOY GOOD HEALTH, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN MAY NOT BE ALL THAT ATTRACTIVE. IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION. A REASON FOR THIS IS THAT LIFE IS PRETTY GOOD, AND PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO COME BACK HERE, NOT GO OFF TO A HEAVEN WHICH BY COMPARISON DOESN'T SEEM THAT MUCH BETTER.
THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA, EVEN THOUGH VERY RELIGIOUS, WERE IN GENERAL, FULL OF THEMSELVES. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ROOM IN THEM FOR GOD TO OPERATE. THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH WERE CONSCIOUS OF THEIR EMPTINESS, AND IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, GOD CAN DO WONDERFUL THINGS – AS JESUS DEMONSTRATED IN THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES THROUGH WHICH HE TRAVELED.
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY, MANY PEOPLE IN OUR PARISH, I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, AND I'M NOT EXCLUDING MYSELF, WHO ARE QUITE COMFORTABLE, WHO SEE THEMSELVES AS BASICALLY ALL RIGHT, NOT IN NEED OF MUCH IMPROVEMENT, AND IF YOU WERE TO ASK THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO CHANGE, THEY WOULD THINK A LONG TIME AND THEN GIVE YOU A STATEMENT LIKE “I'M A LITTLE SHORT TEMPERED,” OR “I PROBABLY DON'T PRAY ENOUGH.” AND THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR GOD TO WORK.
BUT ONCE WE SEE OUR OWN EMPTINESS, HOW FAR WE ARE FROM WHAT WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE COULD BE, HOW MUCH WE NEED TO BE FILLED UP BE GOD AND EMPTIED OUT OF OURSELVES, AND THEN WE TURN AWAY FROM ALL THOSE THINGS, ALL THAT STUFF, AND TURN TOWARDS GOD, WE WILL BE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN DARKNESS WHO SEE A GREAT LIGHT, AND JESUS WILL MOVE AMONG US HEALING THE SICK AND BRINGING THE KINGDOM INTO OUR MIDST.
LET US PRAY TODAY THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO LEAVE JERUSALEM AND GO TO CAPARNUM, WHERE JESUS CAN HEAL OUR SICKNESS AND GIVE SIGHT TO OUR BLINDNESS.
Monday, January 21, 2008
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle A
JOHN 1:29-34
RECENTLY I WAS ASKED BY SOMEONE WHETHER THERE WAS A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD IN THE SPRINGFIELD AREA. THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT SEEKS TO PROMOTE THE IDEA THAT A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN HAS A SPECIAL VOCATION – TO EMBODY CHRIST AS HEALER. WELL, THERE ISN'T. THERE WAS AN ACTIVE CHAPTER IN BUFFALO, WHERE I LIVED BEFORE I CAME HERE, BUT TO BE HONEST, I NEVER ACTUALLY GOT INVOLVED. IN BUFFALO, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE GUILD MOSTLY HAD BANQUETS AND SPONSORED AN ANNUAL MASS FOR PHYSICIANS. TO BE FAIR, THEY ALSO RAISED MONEY TO PROVIDE A PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR A MEDICAL STUDENT, AND I'M SURE THEY MUST HAVE DONE OTHER THINGS.
AS I BEGAN TO MUSE ON WHETHER THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE STARTED HERE IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS, I REALIZED THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A HANDFUL OF PHYSICIANS THAT I SEE AT MASS ON SUNDAYS, I HAD NO WAY OF TELLING WHETHER A PARTICULAR PHYSICIAN WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC OR NOT. HOW COULD ANYONE EVEN BEGIN TO FIND PHYSICIANS WHO WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR FAITH AND WOULD FORM THE NUCLEUS OF A CHAPTER OF THE CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD?
WHEN WE STUDY THE READINGS TODAY, LISTEN TO SOME OF THE PHRASES:
FROM ISAIAH: I WILL MAKE YOU A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS, THAT MY SALVATION WILL REACH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
FROM THE PSALM: I ANNOUNCED YOUR JUSTICE IN THE VAST ASSEMBLY; I DID NOT RESTRAIN MY LIPS, AS YOU, O LORD, KNOW.
FROM THE EPISTLE: PAUL, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE, (THAT IS, A WITNESS) OF CHRIST JESUS.
FROM THE GOSPEL: NOW I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD.
THE THEME RUNNING THROUGH ALL THESE READINGS IS ONE OF WITNESS. IF YOU ARE CALLED TO WITNESS, AND YOU DON'T WITNESS, SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG. AND THAT IS WHAT I REALIZED WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT MY FELLOW PHYSICIANS. IF I CAN'T TELL IF THEY ARE PRACTICING CATHOLICS, SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG. BUT I CAN'T.
AND BELIEVE ME, I'M NOT PICKING ON PHYSICIANS. I THINK IF EACH OF US THINKS ABOUT THE PEOPLE WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT, THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE PEOPLE WE SEE ON TELEVISION, OUR POLITICAL FIGURES – CAN WE PICK OUT THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEIR FAITH? CAN WE IDENTIFY ANY WHO ARE ACTUALLY WITNESSING WITH THEIR WORDS, OR WITH THEIR LIVES, THAT JESUS IS LORD, THAT JESUS IS MESSIAH, THAT JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD? THEY MAY BE PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, BUT THEY CERTAINLY BLEND IN WELL, THEY CERTAINLY MANAGE TO KEEP THIS FACT UNDER WRAPS.
AND I THINK WE CAN TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON OURSELVES AND ASK THE SAME QUESTION. DOES ANYONE OUTSIDE OF OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY, AND OUTSIDE OF THE PEOPLE WE SEE EVERY SUNDAY AT MASS, KNOW THAT WE ARE CATHOLIC? DO THEY KNOW THAT WE TAKE OUR FAITH SERIOUSLY? DO ANY OF THEM SEE SOMETHING ABOUT US THAT MAKES THEM CURIOUS, MAKES THEM WANT TO KNOW WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT, WHY WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL JOY WHICH COMES FROM KNOWING THAT JESUS LIVES IN US? OR DO WE REALLY BLEND IN WELL? I'VE BEEN THERE. BEFORE I BEGAN TO STUDY TO BE A DEACON, I SELDOM WENT OUT OF MY WAY TO WITNESS MY FAITH. I WAS SORT OF PASSIVE, ALTHOUGH IF SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING PARTICULARLY OFFENSIVE, OR REALLY STUPID, REGARDING WHAT CATHOLICS BELIEVED, I WOULD SPEAK UP. BUT AS PEOPLE BEGAN TO ASK WHAT I WAS DOING GOING TO CLASS FOR THREE HOURS TWICE A WEEK, I HAD TO TELL THEM. TO MY SURPRISE THIS AROUSED MORE CURIOSITY THAN ANIMOSITY. AND PEOPLE WOULD REVEAL THEIR OWN ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGION TO ME. AND DIALOG WOULD HAPPEN. AND AS TIME WENT ON, I ACTUALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I COULD WITNESS, ALTHOUGH I'M STILL SHY ABOUT IT, AND COULD BE A LOT BETTER THAN I AM. BUT YOU LEARN, AND AS THE YEARS GO BY, IT BECOMES A LITTLE MORE NATURAL, A LITTLE EASIER.
THE POINT IS THAT WE CANNOT REALLY BE CHRISTIANS UNLESS WE WITNESS. JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD WAITED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO FIND THE MESSIAH, AND THEN GOD SHOWED HIM THE MESSIAH. AND HE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO WITNESS THIS, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LOSING HIS OWN DISCIPLES. AND IF WE WERE TO READ AHEAD, WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT ONE OF THOSE DISCIPLES, ANDREW, BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, AND THEN RECRUITING HIS BROTHER PETER. AND WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT PHILIP, WHO FOLLOWED JESUS, AND WENT OUT AND WITNESSED TO NATHANIEL, WHO BECAME ANOTHER APOSTLE. AND SO IT WENT, AND SO IT IS STILL MEANT TO GO.
BEING A WITNESS IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS IT SEEMS. IT MEANS SPEAKING UP, PERHAPS EVEN IN A HUMOROUS WAY, WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A NEGATIVE REMARK ABOUT THE CHURCH OR ITS TEACHINGS. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OFTEN JOAN AND I HAD TO FACE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR FAMILY. SOMETIMES WE WOULD JUST SAY, “WE'RE JUST OLD FASHIONED CATHOLICS.” IT MEANS VOLUNTEERING A LITTLE EXTRA INFORMATION SOMETIMES – I CAN'T JOIN YOU FOR GOLF SUNDAY UNTIL 9:00 – I'VE GOT TO GET TO MASS. IT MEANS PUBLICLY TAKING AN UNPOPULAR STANCE ONCE IN A WHILE -- “I CAN'T VOTE FOR SO AND SO, BECAUSE HE/SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION.”
BUT IN ADDITION TO THIS KIND OF WITNESSING, THE OTHER KIND IS NECESSARY AS WELL. HOW DOES YOUR FAITH TRANSLATE INTO ACTION? ARE YOU CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT YOUR WORK? DO YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO OFFEND YOU, OR ASK PARDON OF THOSE YOU OFFEND, ESPECIALLY AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS? DO YOU GIVE A LITTLE OF YOURSELF AWAY FOR A GOOD CAUSE? DO YOU VOLUNTEER, DO YOU TAKE PART IN SOME REGULAR ACTIVITY THAT SEEKS TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BETTER?
WE ARE CALLED TO WITNESS. WE ARE CALLED TO GROW IN HOLY BOLDNESS. SO TODAY LET US PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE GRACE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITNESSES, SO THAT HIS SALVATION WILL REACH THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, SO THAT WHEN OUR LIVES ARE OVER, WE CAN SAY WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST, “I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.”
RECENTLY I WAS ASKED BY SOMEONE WHETHER THERE WAS A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD IN THE SPRINGFIELD AREA. THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT SEEKS TO PROMOTE THE IDEA THAT A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN HAS A SPECIAL VOCATION – TO EMBODY CHRIST AS HEALER. WELL, THERE ISN'T. THERE WAS AN ACTIVE CHAPTER IN BUFFALO, WHERE I LIVED BEFORE I CAME HERE, BUT TO BE HONEST, I NEVER ACTUALLY GOT INVOLVED. IN BUFFALO, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE GUILD MOSTLY HAD BANQUETS AND SPONSORED AN ANNUAL MASS FOR PHYSICIANS. TO BE FAIR, THEY ALSO RAISED MONEY TO PROVIDE A PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR A MEDICAL STUDENT, AND I'M SURE THEY MUST HAVE DONE OTHER THINGS.
AS I BEGAN TO MUSE ON WHETHER THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE STARTED HERE IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS, I REALIZED THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A HANDFUL OF PHYSICIANS THAT I SEE AT MASS ON SUNDAYS, I HAD NO WAY OF TELLING WHETHER A PARTICULAR PHYSICIAN WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC OR NOT. HOW COULD ANYONE EVEN BEGIN TO FIND PHYSICIANS WHO WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR FAITH AND WOULD FORM THE NUCLEUS OF A CHAPTER OF THE CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD?
WHEN WE STUDY THE READINGS TODAY, LISTEN TO SOME OF THE PHRASES:
FROM ISAIAH: I WILL MAKE YOU A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS, THAT MY SALVATION WILL REACH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
FROM THE PSALM: I ANNOUNCED YOUR JUSTICE IN THE VAST ASSEMBLY; I DID NOT RESTRAIN MY LIPS, AS YOU, O LORD, KNOW.
FROM THE EPISTLE: PAUL, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE, (THAT IS, A WITNESS) OF CHRIST JESUS.
FROM THE GOSPEL: NOW I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD.
THE THEME RUNNING THROUGH ALL THESE READINGS IS ONE OF WITNESS. IF YOU ARE CALLED TO WITNESS, AND YOU DON'T WITNESS, SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG. AND THAT IS WHAT I REALIZED WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT MY FELLOW PHYSICIANS. IF I CAN'T TELL IF THEY ARE PRACTICING CATHOLICS, SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG. BUT I CAN'T.
AND BELIEVE ME, I'M NOT PICKING ON PHYSICIANS. I THINK IF EACH OF US THINKS ABOUT THE PEOPLE WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT, THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE PEOPLE WE SEE ON TELEVISION, OUR POLITICAL FIGURES – CAN WE PICK OUT THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEIR FAITH? CAN WE IDENTIFY ANY WHO ARE ACTUALLY WITNESSING WITH THEIR WORDS, OR WITH THEIR LIVES, THAT JESUS IS LORD, THAT JESUS IS MESSIAH, THAT JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD? THEY MAY BE PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, BUT THEY CERTAINLY BLEND IN WELL, THEY CERTAINLY MANAGE TO KEEP THIS FACT UNDER WRAPS.
AND I THINK WE CAN TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON OURSELVES AND ASK THE SAME QUESTION. DOES ANYONE OUTSIDE OF OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY, AND OUTSIDE OF THE PEOPLE WE SEE EVERY SUNDAY AT MASS, KNOW THAT WE ARE CATHOLIC? DO THEY KNOW THAT WE TAKE OUR FAITH SERIOUSLY? DO ANY OF THEM SEE SOMETHING ABOUT US THAT MAKES THEM CURIOUS, MAKES THEM WANT TO KNOW WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT, WHY WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL JOY WHICH COMES FROM KNOWING THAT JESUS LIVES IN US? OR DO WE REALLY BLEND IN WELL? I'VE BEEN THERE. BEFORE I BEGAN TO STUDY TO BE A DEACON, I SELDOM WENT OUT OF MY WAY TO WITNESS MY FAITH. I WAS SORT OF PASSIVE, ALTHOUGH IF SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING PARTICULARLY OFFENSIVE, OR REALLY STUPID, REGARDING WHAT CATHOLICS BELIEVED, I WOULD SPEAK UP. BUT AS PEOPLE BEGAN TO ASK WHAT I WAS DOING GOING TO CLASS FOR THREE HOURS TWICE A WEEK, I HAD TO TELL THEM. TO MY SURPRISE THIS AROUSED MORE CURIOSITY THAN ANIMOSITY. AND PEOPLE WOULD REVEAL THEIR OWN ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGION TO ME. AND DIALOG WOULD HAPPEN. AND AS TIME WENT ON, I ACTUALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I COULD WITNESS, ALTHOUGH I'M STILL SHY ABOUT IT, AND COULD BE A LOT BETTER THAN I AM. BUT YOU LEARN, AND AS THE YEARS GO BY, IT BECOMES A LITTLE MORE NATURAL, A LITTLE EASIER.
THE POINT IS THAT WE CANNOT REALLY BE CHRISTIANS UNLESS WE WITNESS. JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD WAITED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO FIND THE MESSIAH, AND THEN GOD SHOWED HIM THE MESSIAH. AND HE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO WITNESS THIS, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LOSING HIS OWN DISCIPLES. AND IF WE WERE TO READ AHEAD, WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT ONE OF THOSE DISCIPLES, ANDREW, BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, AND THEN RECRUITING HIS BROTHER PETER. AND WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT PHILIP, WHO FOLLOWED JESUS, AND WENT OUT AND WITNESSED TO NATHANIEL, WHO BECAME ANOTHER APOSTLE. AND SO IT WENT, AND SO IT IS STILL MEANT TO GO.
BEING A WITNESS IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS IT SEEMS. IT MEANS SPEAKING UP, PERHAPS EVEN IN A HUMOROUS WAY, WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A NEGATIVE REMARK ABOUT THE CHURCH OR ITS TEACHINGS. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OFTEN JOAN AND I HAD TO FACE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR FAMILY. SOMETIMES WE WOULD JUST SAY, “WE'RE JUST OLD FASHIONED CATHOLICS.” IT MEANS VOLUNTEERING A LITTLE EXTRA INFORMATION SOMETIMES – I CAN'T JOIN YOU FOR GOLF SUNDAY UNTIL 9:00 – I'VE GOT TO GET TO MASS. IT MEANS PUBLICLY TAKING AN UNPOPULAR STANCE ONCE IN A WHILE -- “I CAN'T VOTE FOR SO AND SO, BECAUSE HE/SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION.”
BUT IN ADDITION TO THIS KIND OF WITNESSING, THE OTHER KIND IS NECESSARY AS WELL. HOW DOES YOUR FAITH TRANSLATE INTO ACTION? ARE YOU CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT YOUR WORK? DO YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO OFFEND YOU, OR ASK PARDON OF THOSE YOU OFFEND, ESPECIALLY AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS? DO YOU GIVE A LITTLE OF YOURSELF AWAY FOR A GOOD CAUSE? DO YOU VOLUNTEER, DO YOU TAKE PART IN SOME REGULAR ACTIVITY THAT SEEKS TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BETTER?
WE ARE CALLED TO WITNESS. WE ARE CALLED TO GROW IN HOLY BOLDNESS. SO TODAY LET US PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE GRACE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITNESSES, SO THAT HIS SALVATION WILL REACH THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, SO THAT WHEN OUR LIVES ARE OVER, WE CAN SAY WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST, “I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.”
Sunday, January 13, 2008
BAPTISM OF THE LORD, CYCLE A
MATTHEW 3:13-17
TODAY'S GOSPEL DESCRIBES THE MOMENT WHEN JESUS WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN. FOR 2000 YEARS PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED WHY JESUS SUBMITTED TO BAPTISM? SINCE JESUS WAS GOD AS WELL AS THE PERFECT MAN, HE COULD NOT SIN, AND THEREFORE HE HAD NOTHING TO REPENT ABOUT. SO THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT THE SON OF GOD JOINING CROWDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR SORROW FOR THEIR SIN, AND THEIR RESOLUTION TO REFORM THEIR LIVES.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS NOT THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, BUT RATHER, A RITE THAT WAS USED BY JOHN TO SYMBOLIZE THE WASHING CLEAN OF WHAT WAS UNCLEAN. THE JEWS OF THAT TIME HAD MANY RITUALS USING WATER. IF YOU REMEMBER THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA, THE SIX WATER JUGS OF JESUS TURNED INTO WINE WERE THERE PRECISELY FOR RITUAL WASHINGS. ANYTIME A JEW, ESPECIALLY A PHARISEE, DID ANYTHING THAT WAS UNCLEAN, HE OR SHE WOULD WASH HIMSELF. THERE WERE WASHING RITUALS FOR ENTERING THE TEMPLE. IF YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING UNCLEAN, SUCH AS BINDING UP THE WOUNDS OF A PERSON WHO WAS INJURED, THEN YOU HAD TO RITUALLY WASH AFTERWARDS. AND IF A GENTILE CONVERTED TO JUDAISM, HE TOOK A RITUAL BATH, JUST AS IS DONE IN ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUES TODAY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS RITUAL BATHS WAS ALMOST AN INSULT, BECAUSE IT MADE THE POINT THAT THE GENTILE WAS UNCLEAN, JUST AS UNCLEAN AS A DEAD BODY OR A LEPER. I BRING THIS ALL UP BECAUSE IT SHOWS HOW RADICAL JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS. HE WAS ESSENTIALLY TELLING THE JEWS THAT THEY WERE UNCLEAN AND COULD ONLY BECOME CLEAN BY GOING THROUGH THE SAME RITUAL THAT BROUGHT THE GENTILES INTO THE JEWISH RELIGION. IT IS A WONDER HE WAS NOT MARTYRED BEFORE.
FOUR REASONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN FOR WHY JESUS SUBMITTED HIMSELF TO JOHN'S BAPTISM:
1. TO CONSECRATE HIMSELF TO GOD. THE PROBLEM HERE, OF COURSE, IS THAT THIS WAS NOT A RITUAL OF CONSECRATION. CONSECRATION, WHETHER OF A KING, A PROPHET, OR A PRIEST INVOLVED THE USE OF OIL, AND SOMETIMES THE LAYING ON OF HANDS.
2. TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE HIS MINISTRY. THAT OF COURSE SEEMS UNLIKELY. A MUCH MORE LIKELY POINT OF ANNOUNCING HIS MINISTRY WAS THAT TIME IN HIS HOMETOWN, WHEN HE TOOK THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND READ FROM IT AND SAID “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” AND OF COURSE, WE SEE THAT JESUS ANNOUNCES HIS MINISTRY BY HIS FIRST MIRACLE AT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. AND MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT THE VOICE OF GOD WAS HEARD BY ONLY BY JESUS AND JOHN.
3. TO BE AN EXAMPLE TO HIS FOLLOWERS. AT FIRST GLANCE THIS SEEMS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER DURING JESUS EARTHLY MINISTRY, WE HAVE NO INDICATION THAT JESUS DEMANDED BAPTISM OF HIS FOLLOWERS. IT WAS ONLY AFTER HIS DEATH THAT HE COMMISSIONED HIS APOSTLES TO BAPTIZE ALL NATIONS. AND AGAIN WE HAVE THE PROBLEM THAT JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS NOT A SACRAMENTAL BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT.
4. FINALLY SOME HAVE SAID THAT JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED SO THAT HE COULD SANCTIFY THE WATER THAT WOULD BE USED TO BAPTIZE HIS FOLLOWERS. I GUESS THAT COULD BE AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THE BEST ANSWER IS THAT HE WANTED TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH SINNERS. WE KNOW THAT AT THE CRUCIFIXION HE TOOK OUR SIN UPON HIMSELF AND CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH. WE KNOW THAT HE BECAME FLESH AND BECAME A NEWBORN BABY AND TOOK UPON HIMSELF ALL THE BURDENS OF BEING HUMAN. SO IT WOULD CERTAINLY NOT BE OUT OF CHARACTER THAT AT THIS POINT OF BAPTISM HE TOOK OUR HUMAN SINS AND FAILINGS UPON HIMSELF AS WELL AND IDENTIFIED HIMSELF COMPLETELY WITH US.
THE MYSTERY OF OUR SALVATION IS WRAPPED UP FUNDAMENTALLY IN THIS IDENTITY THAT JESUS HAS WITH US. HE KNOWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS HE WILL NEVER LOSE THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER, AND BY BECOMING EXACTLY LIKE US WE IN TURN BECOME BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HIM. JESUS DRAWS THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER TO US THROUGH THIS IDENTIFICATION.
THIS OF COURSE SHOULD GIVE US A GREAT SENSE OF JOY. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, NO MATTER HOW FAR WE FALL, WE CAN NEVER ESCAPE THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS FOR JESUS AND FOR US, WITH WHOM JESUS IDENTIFIES. THAT LOVE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ARE OURS TO ACCEPT AND REJECT.
BUT ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IDENTIFICATION STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT WE CAN REJECT THE LOVE OF GOD. JESUS CALLS US, HIS FOLLOWERS, TO EXTEND THAT LOVE TO THOSE WHO DO NOT YET APPRECIATE THIS GREAT FACT. FOR CERTAINLY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE LOVED BY GOD WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO GOD THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW THAT. AND OUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE LOVE OF GOD, IS THE ESSENTIAL STEP TOWARDS WINNING OUR SALVATION.
ONCE A MINISTER WHO WAS VISITING MOTHER TERESA IN INDIA ASKED HER, "WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREATEST PROBLEM IS IN THE WORLD?". MOTHER TERESA THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE AND REPLIED, "WE DO NOT MAKE THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY LARGE ENOUGH." MOTHER TERESA'S POINTS WAS THAT WE TREAT FAMILY MEMBERS VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WAY WE TREAT STRANGERS. WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT FAMILY MEMBERS. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR PHYSICAL WELFARE. WE WANT TO SEE THEM SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY. AT THE EDGE OF THE CIRCLE, PEOPLE MATTER FAR LESS. WE USUALLY WISH THEM WELL, BUT WE LEAVE THEM ALONE. FAR BE IT FROM US TO BOTHER THEM IN ANY WAY. WE DO NOT EXTEND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY FAR ENOUGH.
SO TODAY AS WE REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE LOVE THAT IS GIVEN TO US THROUGH JESUS' IDENTIFICATION WITH US. AND AT THE SAME TIME WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS OUR JOB TO TELL OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS THE GOOD NEWS THAT GOD LOVES THEM UNCONDITIONALLY AND THAT THEY HAVE ONLY TO RESPOND TO THAT LOVE. IT IS TIME FOR US TO EXPAND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY.
TODAY'S GOSPEL DESCRIBES THE MOMENT WHEN JESUS WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN. FOR 2000 YEARS PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED WHY JESUS SUBMITTED TO BAPTISM? SINCE JESUS WAS GOD AS WELL AS THE PERFECT MAN, HE COULD NOT SIN, AND THEREFORE HE HAD NOTHING TO REPENT ABOUT. SO THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT THE SON OF GOD JOINING CROWDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR SORROW FOR THEIR SIN, AND THEIR RESOLUTION TO REFORM THEIR LIVES.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS NOT THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, BUT RATHER, A RITE THAT WAS USED BY JOHN TO SYMBOLIZE THE WASHING CLEAN OF WHAT WAS UNCLEAN. THE JEWS OF THAT TIME HAD MANY RITUALS USING WATER. IF YOU REMEMBER THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA, THE SIX WATER JUGS OF JESUS TURNED INTO WINE WERE THERE PRECISELY FOR RITUAL WASHINGS. ANYTIME A JEW, ESPECIALLY A PHARISEE, DID ANYTHING THAT WAS UNCLEAN, HE OR SHE WOULD WASH HIMSELF. THERE WERE WASHING RITUALS FOR ENTERING THE TEMPLE. IF YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING UNCLEAN, SUCH AS BINDING UP THE WOUNDS OF A PERSON WHO WAS INJURED, THEN YOU HAD TO RITUALLY WASH AFTERWARDS. AND IF A GENTILE CONVERTED TO JUDAISM, HE TOOK A RITUAL BATH, JUST AS IS DONE IN ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUES TODAY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS RITUAL BATHS WAS ALMOST AN INSULT, BECAUSE IT MADE THE POINT THAT THE GENTILE WAS UNCLEAN, JUST AS UNCLEAN AS A DEAD BODY OR A LEPER. I BRING THIS ALL UP BECAUSE IT SHOWS HOW RADICAL JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS. HE WAS ESSENTIALLY TELLING THE JEWS THAT THEY WERE UNCLEAN AND COULD ONLY BECOME CLEAN BY GOING THROUGH THE SAME RITUAL THAT BROUGHT THE GENTILES INTO THE JEWISH RELIGION. IT IS A WONDER HE WAS NOT MARTYRED BEFORE.
FOUR REASONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN FOR WHY JESUS SUBMITTED HIMSELF TO JOHN'S BAPTISM:
1. TO CONSECRATE HIMSELF TO GOD. THE PROBLEM HERE, OF COURSE, IS THAT THIS WAS NOT A RITUAL OF CONSECRATION. CONSECRATION, WHETHER OF A KING, A PROPHET, OR A PRIEST INVOLVED THE USE OF OIL, AND SOMETIMES THE LAYING ON OF HANDS.
2. TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE HIS MINISTRY. THAT OF COURSE SEEMS UNLIKELY. A MUCH MORE LIKELY POINT OF ANNOUNCING HIS MINISTRY WAS THAT TIME IN HIS HOMETOWN, WHEN HE TOOK THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND READ FROM IT AND SAID “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” AND OF COURSE, WE SEE THAT JESUS ANNOUNCES HIS MINISTRY BY HIS FIRST MIRACLE AT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. AND MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT THE VOICE OF GOD WAS HEARD BY ONLY BY JESUS AND JOHN.
3. TO BE AN EXAMPLE TO HIS FOLLOWERS. AT FIRST GLANCE THIS SEEMS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER DURING JESUS EARTHLY MINISTRY, WE HAVE NO INDICATION THAT JESUS DEMANDED BAPTISM OF HIS FOLLOWERS. IT WAS ONLY AFTER HIS DEATH THAT HE COMMISSIONED HIS APOSTLES TO BAPTIZE ALL NATIONS. AND AGAIN WE HAVE THE PROBLEM THAT JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS NOT A SACRAMENTAL BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT.
4. FINALLY SOME HAVE SAID THAT JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED SO THAT HE COULD SANCTIFY THE WATER THAT WOULD BE USED TO BAPTIZE HIS FOLLOWERS. I GUESS THAT COULD BE AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THE BEST ANSWER IS THAT HE WANTED TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH SINNERS. WE KNOW THAT AT THE CRUCIFIXION HE TOOK OUR SIN UPON HIMSELF AND CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH. WE KNOW THAT HE BECAME FLESH AND BECAME A NEWBORN BABY AND TOOK UPON HIMSELF ALL THE BURDENS OF BEING HUMAN. SO IT WOULD CERTAINLY NOT BE OUT OF CHARACTER THAT AT THIS POINT OF BAPTISM HE TOOK OUR HUMAN SINS AND FAILINGS UPON HIMSELF AS WELL AND IDENTIFIED HIMSELF COMPLETELY WITH US.
THE MYSTERY OF OUR SALVATION IS WRAPPED UP FUNDAMENTALLY IN THIS IDENTITY THAT JESUS HAS WITH US. HE KNOWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS HE WILL NEVER LOSE THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER, AND BY BECOMING EXACTLY LIKE US WE IN TURN BECOME BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HIM. JESUS DRAWS THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER TO US THROUGH THIS IDENTIFICATION.
THIS OF COURSE SHOULD GIVE US A GREAT SENSE OF JOY. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, NO MATTER HOW FAR WE FALL, WE CAN NEVER ESCAPE THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS FOR JESUS AND FOR US, WITH WHOM JESUS IDENTIFIES. THAT LOVE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ARE OURS TO ACCEPT AND REJECT.
BUT ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IDENTIFICATION STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT WE CAN REJECT THE LOVE OF GOD. JESUS CALLS US, HIS FOLLOWERS, TO EXTEND THAT LOVE TO THOSE WHO DO NOT YET APPRECIATE THIS GREAT FACT. FOR CERTAINLY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE LOVED BY GOD WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO GOD THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW THAT. AND OUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE LOVE OF GOD, IS THE ESSENTIAL STEP TOWARDS WINNING OUR SALVATION.
ONCE A MINISTER WHO WAS VISITING MOTHER TERESA IN INDIA ASKED HER, "WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREATEST PROBLEM IS IN THE WORLD?". MOTHER TERESA THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE AND REPLIED, "WE DO NOT MAKE THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY LARGE ENOUGH." MOTHER TERESA'S POINTS WAS THAT WE TREAT FAMILY MEMBERS VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WAY WE TREAT STRANGERS. WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT FAMILY MEMBERS. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR PHYSICAL WELFARE. WE WANT TO SEE THEM SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY. AT THE EDGE OF THE CIRCLE, PEOPLE MATTER FAR LESS. WE USUALLY WISH THEM WELL, BUT WE LEAVE THEM ALONE. FAR BE IT FROM US TO BOTHER THEM IN ANY WAY. WE DO NOT EXTEND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY FAR ENOUGH.
SO TODAY AS WE REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE LOVE THAT IS GIVEN TO US THROUGH JESUS' IDENTIFICATION WITH US. AND AT THE SAME TIME WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS OUR JOB TO TELL OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS THE GOOD NEWS THAT GOD LOVES THEM UNCONDITIONALLY AND THAT THEY HAVE ONLY TO RESPOND TO THAT LOVE. IT IS TIME FOR US TO EXPAND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Feast of the Epiphany 2008
MATHEW 2:1-12
WE ARE SIX DAYS INTO THE NEW YEAR, AND FOR MANY, WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A YEAR OF NEW BEGINNINGS HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO LOOK A LOT LIKE LAST YEAR. I RESOLVED TO LOSE WEIGHT, BUT HAVEN’T REALLY STARTED A DIET YET. I’VE RESOLVED TO QUIT SMOKING, BUT JUST YESTERDAY I BOUGHT A CARTON OF CIGARETTES. I’VE RESOLVED TO WATCH TELEVISION LESS – BUT CERTAINLY THAT DID NOT CHANGE DURING THIS LAST FEW DAYS.
IT’S KIND OF SAD THAT SO MANY PEOPLE JUST DRIFT ALONG, AND YOU CAN’T TELL MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR, OR 10 YEARS AGO AND NOW. THE SAME HABITS, THE SAME PLANS TO CHANGE, BUT NOTHING EVER REALLY CHANGES. AND ITS EVEN SADDER THAT WHEN YOU SPEAK TO MOST PEOPLE, THEY CAN QUITE READILY IDENTIFY WHAT IT IS ABOUT THEIR LIVES THAT NEEDS WORK. THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE MOTIVATION TO CHANGE. THEY JUST DON’T FEEL LIKE CHANGING.
THIS IS A RELIGIOUS ISSUE. MOST PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS HAVE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER SUFFERED FROM STAGNATION IN THEIR RELIGIOUS LIVES. SOMETIMES PEOPLE GO A WHOLE LIFETIME IN STAGNATION, GOING TO MASS MOST SUNDAYS, SAYING GRACE BEFORE MEALS, BUT MAKING NO EFFORT TO DEEPENING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, REACHING OUT TO THEIR NEIGHBORS, ESPECIALLY THE LESS FORTUNATE; OR BECOMING PROMOTERS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. AND YET, YOU CAN’T READ A PAGE OF SCRIPTURE WITHOUT RUNNING ACROSS ONE OF THESE IMPERATIVES. WE JUST DRIFT ALONG, CONVINCED THAT WE ARE OK, AND AS LONG AS THERE ARE PEOPLE LESS COMMITTED THAN WE ARE, WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY.
THE STORY IN THE GOSPELS THAT YOU JUST HEARD IS AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. THE MAGI HAD ACCESS TO SOME INFORMATION WHICH LED THEM TO BELIEVE THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN PALESTINE. THAT INFORMATION WAS ENOUGH TO SEND THEM ON A LONG AND DANGEROUS JOURNEY. HOWEVER, WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THEY STILL DID NOT HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED, AND CONSULTED THE JEWISH LEADERS, WHO, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, HAD ALL THE INFORMATION. THEY KNEW WHERE THE MESSIAH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BORN; THEY KNEW FROM THE PROPHETS ABOUT WHEN HE SHOULD BE BORN, BUT NOT A ONE OF THEM GOT UP ON HIS CAMEL AND WENT LOOKING FOR THE MESSIAH. THESE WERE THE LEADERS OF A PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN EXPECTING THE MESSIAH FOR CENTURIES, LEADERS AND SCHOLARS WHO REPRESENTED A PEOPLE WHO LONGED FOR “THE DAY OF THE LORD”. THEY KNEW WHAT THEY SHOULD DO, BUT CHOSE NOT TO DO IT.
THE REWARD FOR THE MAGI WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, AND WITH HIS MOTHER MARY. THEIR LIVES, WE CAN BE SURE, WERE CHANGED FOREVER, BECAUSE THEY HAD STEPPED OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE AND MADE THE EFFORT TO FIND THIS GOD WHO HAD BECOME MAN. THE SCHOLARS AND LEADERS OF THE JEWS REMAINED IN THEIR LIBRARIES PORING OVER THEIR BOOKS AND DISCUSSING THE ANCIENT PROPHECIES, BUT SAW NO REASON TO LEAVE JERUSALEM, NO REASON TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES IN ANY WAY, AND THEY NEVER MET THE JESUS CHRIST WHO WAS BORN A FEW MILES AWAY, AND WHO SPENT THIRTY THREE YEARS MOVING AMONG THEM.
YOU AND I HAVE THE SAME GOAL AS THE MAGI – WE WANT TO MEET JESUS, WE WANT TO COME INTO HIS PRESENCE, NOW AND IN ETERNITY. WE PRAY IN OUR MASS THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN, WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE TO CHANGE SO THAT WE CAN BECOME BETTER SERVANTS. WE EVEN SYMBOLIZE THIS BY TAKING INTO OUR OWN BODIES HIS BODY AND BLOOD IN HOLY COMMUNION. BUT ARE WE CHANGING, ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS?
TO PROGRESS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN. TO PROGRESS IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS NO DIFFERENT. AND IF YOU HAVE A PLAN, YOU HAVE TO HAVE BENCHMARKS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE IF YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS. AND IF YOU HAVE BENCHMARKS, YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LITTLE TIME EVERY DAY TO SEE WHERE YOU ARE WITH THESE BENCHMARKS.
AN EXAMPLE: MY PLAN IS TO READ THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW THIS YEAR, SLOWLY AND DELIBERATIVELY. MY BENCHMARKS WILL BE TO GET THROUGH TWO CHAPTERS A MONTH, SINCE THERE ARE 28 CHAPTERS. THE LAST THING I WILL DO EACH EVENING IS TO ASK WHETHER I’VE DONE MY READING FOR THE DAY. PLAN, BENCHMARKS, REVIEW.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: I HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, EARLY DIABETES, AND MY KNEES HURT ALL THE TIME. MY DOCTOR HAS SUGGESTED DIET AND EXERCISE. MY PLAN IS TO LOSE 20 POUNDS, AND TO SPEND 15 MINUTES A DAY WALKING ON A TREADMILL. EACH DAY I WILL REVIEW WHETHER I’VE ACCOMPLISHED MY DIET AND EXERCISE GOALS. EACH MONTH I WILL HAVE LOST 1-2 POUNDS. (AND DON’T EVER THINK THAT TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY IS NOT A RELIGIOUS DUTY. IT IS. WE ARE, AFTER ALL, TEMPLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.) PLAN, BENCHMARKS, REVIEW.
WHEN YOU BEGIN TO WORK ON YOUR PLAN, NO MATTER HOW SMALL IT SEEMS, YOU WILL NOTICE MANY OTHER THINGS STARTING TO HAPPEN. THE MAGI HAD TO GET UP EVERY MORNING AND GO FURTHER AND FURTHER INTO THE UNKNOWN, BUT THEY DID, AND WERE REWARDED.
SO THIS YEAR, MAKE A PLAN THAT POINTS TOWARDS JESUS, AND THEN FOLLOW IT. NEXT YEAR MAY BE TOO LATE.
WE ARE SIX DAYS INTO THE NEW YEAR, AND FOR MANY, WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A YEAR OF NEW BEGINNINGS HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO LOOK A LOT LIKE LAST YEAR. I RESOLVED TO LOSE WEIGHT, BUT HAVEN’T REALLY STARTED A DIET YET. I’VE RESOLVED TO QUIT SMOKING, BUT JUST YESTERDAY I BOUGHT A CARTON OF CIGARETTES. I’VE RESOLVED TO WATCH TELEVISION LESS – BUT CERTAINLY THAT DID NOT CHANGE DURING THIS LAST FEW DAYS.
IT’S KIND OF SAD THAT SO MANY PEOPLE JUST DRIFT ALONG, AND YOU CAN’T TELL MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR, OR 10 YEARS AGO AND NOW. THE SAME HABITS, THE SAME PLANS TO CHANGE, BUT NOTHING EVER REALLY CHANGES. AND ITS EVEN SADDER THAT WHEN YOU SPEAK TO MOST PEOPLE, THEY CAN QUITE READILY IDENTIFY WHAT IT IS ABOUT THEIR LIVES THAT NEEDS WORK. THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE MOTIVATION TO CHANGE. THEY JUST DON’T FEEL LIKE CHANGING.
THIS IS A RELIGIOUS ISSUE. MOST PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS HAVE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER SUFFERED FROM STAGNATION IN THEIR RELIGIOUS LIVES. SOMETIMES PEOPLE GO A WHOLE LIFETIME IN STAGNATION, GOING TO MASS MOST SUNDAYS, SAYING GRACE BEFORE MEALS, BUT MAKING NO EFFORT TO DEEPENING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, REACHING OUT TO THEIR NEIGHBORS, ESPECIALLY THE LESS FORTUNATE; OR BECOMING PROMOTERS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. AND YET, YOU CAN’T READ A PAGE OF SCRIPTURE WITHOUT RUNNING ACROSS ONE OF THESE IMPERATIVES. WE JUST DRIFT ALONG, CONVINCED THAT WE ARE OK, AND AS LONG AS THERE ARE PEOPLE LESS COMMITTED THAN WE ARE, WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY.
THE STORY IN THE GOSPELS THAT YOU JUST HEARD IS AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. THE MAGI HAD ACCESS TO SOME INFORMATION WHICH LED THEM TO BELIEVE THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN PALESTINE. THAT INFORMATION WAS ENOUGH TO SEND THEM ON A LONG AND DANGEROUS JOURNEY. HOWEVER, WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THEY STILL DID NOT HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED, AND CONSULTED THE JEWISH LEADERS, WHO, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, HAD ALL THE INFORMATION. THEY KNEW WHERE THE MESSIAH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BORN; THEY KNEW FROM THE PROPHETS ABOUT WHEN HE SHOULD BE BORN, BUT NOT A ONE OF THEM GOT UP ON HIS CAMEL AND WENT LOOKING FOR THE MESSIAH. THESE WERE THE LEADERS OF A PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN EXPECTING THE MESSIAH FOR CENTURIES, LEADERS AND SCHOLARS WHO REPRESENTED A PEOPLE WHO LONGED FOR “THE DAY OF THE LORD”. THEY KNEW WHAT THEY SHOULD DO, BUT CHOSE NOT TO DO IT.
THE REWARD FOR THE MAGI WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, AND WITH HIS MOTHER MARY. THEIR LIVES, WE CAN BE SURE, WERE CHANGED FOREVER, BECAUSE THEY HAD STEPPED OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE AND MADE THE EFFORT TO FIND THIS GOD WHO HAD BECOME MAN. THE SCHOLARS AND LEADERS OF THE JEWS REMAINED IN THEIR LIBRARIES PORING OVER THEIR BOOKS AND DISCUSSING THE ANCIENT PROPHECIES, BUT SAW NO REASON TO LEAVE JERUSALEM, NO REASON TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES IN ANY WAY, AND THEY NEVER MET THE JESUS CHRIST WHO WAS BORN A FEW MILES AWAY, AND WHO SPENT THIRTY THREE YEARS MOVING AMONG THEM.
YOU AND I HAVE THE SAME GOAL AS THE MAGI – WE WANT TO MEET JESUS, WE WANT TO COME INTO HIS PRESENCE, NOW AND IN ETERNITY. WE PRAY IN OUR MASS THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN, WE PRAY FOR THE GRACE TO CHANGE SO THAT WE CAN BECOME BETTER SERVANTS. WE EVEN SYMBOLIZE THIS BY TAKING INTO OUR OWN BODIES HIS BODY AND BLOOD IN HOLY COMMUNION. BUT ARE WE CHANGING, ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS?
TO PROGRESS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN. TO PROGRESS IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS NO DIFFERENT. AND IF YOU HAVE A PLAN, YOU HAVE TO HAVE BENCHMARKS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE IF YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS. AND IF YOU HAVE BENCHMARKS, YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LITTLE TIME EVERY DAY TO SEE WHERE YOU ARE WITH THESE BENCHMARKS.
AN EXAMPLE: MY PLAN IS TO READ THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW THIS YEAR, SLOWLY AND DELIBERATIVELY. MY BENCHMARKS WILL BE TO GET THROUGH TWO CHAPTERS A MONTH, SINCE THERE ARE 28 CHAPTERS. THE LAST THING I WILL DO EACH EVENING IS TO ASK WHETHER I’VE DONE MY READING FOR THE DAY. PLAN, BENCHMARKS, REVIEW.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: I HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, EARLY DIABETES, AND MY KNEES HURT ALL THE TIME. MY DOCTOR HAS SUGGESTED DIET AND EXERCISE. MY PLAN IS TO LOSE 20 POUNDS, AND TO SPEND 15 MINUTES A DAY WALKING ON A TREADMILL. EACH DAY I WILL REVIEW WHETHER I’VE ACCOMPLISHED MY DIET AND EXERCISE GOALS. EACH MONTH I WILL HAVE LOST 1-2 POUNDS. (AND DON’T EVER THINK THAT TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY IS NOT A RELIGIOUS DUTY. IT IS. WE ARE, AFTER ALL, TEMPLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.) PLAN, BENCHMARKS, REVIEW.
WHEN YOU BEGIN TO WORK ON YOUR PLAN, NO MATTER HOW SMALL IT SEEMS, YOU WILL NOTICE MANY OTHER THINGS STARTING TO HAPPEN. THE MAGI HAD TO GET UP EVERY MORNING AND GO FURTHER AND FURTHER INTO THE UNKNOWN, BUT THEY DID, AND WERE REWARDED.
SO THIS YEAR, MAKE A PLAN THAT POINTS TOWARDS JESUS, AND THEN FOLLOW IT. NEXT YEAR MAY BE TOO LATE.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Holy Family, cycle A
MATTHEW 2:13-15, 19-23
THERE ARE TWO WAYS AT LEAST OF LOOKING AT THE GOSPEL FOR THIS FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY. WE MIGHT, FOR EXAMPLE, MEDITATE ON THE ACTUAL EVENTS – THE ANGEL SPEAKING TO JOSEPH IN DREAMS, THE FLIGHT OF THE LITTLE FAMILY FROM ISRAEL INTO EGYPT; MAYBE WE COULD EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR THEM TO BE IMMIGRANTS IN A COUNTRY WHERE CUSTOMS WERE UNFAMILIAR AND THEY COULD NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. DID JOSEPH HAVE TO WORK AT ANY JOB HE COULD GET? DID THEY GO HUNGRY? WHAT KIND OF LIVING QUARTERS DID THEY HAVE? OR, PERHAPS, THEY WENT TO ONE OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN EGYPT, BECAUSE THERE WERE JEWISH COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE MEDITERRANIAN WORLD. BUT WE CERTAINLY COULD CONCLUDE THAT IT WASN'T EASY. AND WE COULD RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH WERE REFUGEES, MAYBE EVEN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS; AND WE COULD MARVEL ONCE AGAIN HOW JESUS SHARED EVERYTHING WITH US HUMAN BEINGS, EVEN THE VERY WORST PARTS OF LIFE.
BUT I THINK MATTHEW HAD A DIFFERENT INTENTION IN MIND WHEN HE DESCRIBED THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT, AND BACK AGAIN. I THINK THAT BECAUSE HE GOES TO A LOT OF TROUBLE TO MAKE SURE WE SEE THAT JESUS IS FULFILLING PROPHECY.
JOSEPH, FOR EXAMPLE, IS INSTRUCTED THROUGH DREAMS. AND WE MAY REMEMBER THAT ANOTHER JOSEPH, THE SON OF JACOB, WAS AIDED BY GOD THROUGH DREAMS WHEN HE WAS FIRST OF ALL A PRISONER OF EGYPT, AND EVENTUALLY BECAME THE PRIME MINISTER. THAT JOSEPH WAS GIVEN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT A GREAT FAMINE WAS COMING, AND BECAUSE OF THIS FOREKNOWLEDGE, JOSEPH WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIS KINSMEN WHO CAME INTO EGYPT AND EVENTUALLY FORMED THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE THE ISRAELITES. AND JOSEPH, THE FOSTER FATHER OF JESUS, PRESERVES THE LIFE OF JESUS BECAUSE OF HIS DREAMS.
THE READING TODAY LEAVES OUT THE SLAUGHTER OF THE CHILDREN THAT WAS ORDERED BY HEROD. JUST LAST WEEK ON FRIDAY WE CELEBRATED THE FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. BUT MATTHEW WANTED US TO SEE THAT JUST AS THE BIRTH OF JESUS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE TRAGEDY OF ALL THESE DEATHS, THERE WAS A SIMILAR EVENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT – THE BIRTH OF MOSES. PHAROH HAD ORDERED THAT ALL THE MALE CHILDREN OF THE ISRAELITES WOULD BE PUT TO DEATH, HIS INTENTION BEING TO STOP THE GROWTH OF THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE. MOSES ESCAPED, AND AFTER EXILE, CAME BACK TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE TO FREEDOM. JESUS, MATTHEW SUGGESTS, WILL ALSO RETURN TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE TO A NEW KIND OF FREEDOM.
MATTHEW QUOTES SCRIPTURE; HE QUOTES HOSEA THE PROPHET, WHEN HE SAYS, “OUT OF EGYPT I WILL CALL MY SON”. HOSEA WAS REFERRING TO THE ISRAELITES, THE DESCENDANTS OF THE PATRIARCH JACOB, WHO HAD BEEN GIVEN THE NAME “ISRAEL” AFTER HE WRESTLED WITH AN ANGEL. HOSEA WAS RECALLING HOW GOD HAD BROUGHT HIS PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, AND WOULD BRING THEM AGAIN OUT OF THEIR SPIRITUAL EXILE. JESUS IS THE NEW ISRAEL, AND GOD CALLS HIM OUT OF EGYPT TO BEGIN THE TASK OF FORMING A NEW PEOPLE – YOU AND I.
BUT THEN WE COME TO A MYSTERY. MATTHEW QUOTES ANOTHER PROPHECY: “HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZOREAN”. IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET ONE OF YOUR BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALIST FRIENDS NERVOUS, ASK HIM OR HER WHERE THAT QUOTE CAME FROM. THE SIMPLE FACT IS THAT THERE IS NO SUCH QUOTE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. THERE ARE THREE EXPLANATIONS FOR THIS. ONE IS THAT MATTHEW WAS QUOTING FROM A PROPHECY THAT DIDN'T ACTUALLY MAKE IT INTO THE BIBLE. SOME CATHOLIC APOLOGISTS USE THIS TO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT REVELATION IS HANDED DOWN BY TRADITION AS WELL AS THROUGH SCRIPTURE. IF THE STATEMENT IS IN MATTHEW, THEN IT IS SCRIPTURE; BUT IF MATTHEW SAYS HE GOT IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND IT ISN'T IN SCRIPTURE, THEN TRADITION MUST CARRY THE TRUTH AS WELL. ANOTHER EXPLANATION IS THAT MATTHEW IS REFERRING TO THE NAZARITES. IF YOU REMEMBER YOUR BIBLE, SAMSON, THE GUY WHO GOT BETRAYED BY DELILAH, WAS A NAZARITE. THEY TOOK OATHS NOT TO CUT THEIR HAIR, TO AVOID WINE, TO AVOID WOMEN, AND IN GENERAL, THEY MADE THE PHARISEES LOOK LIKE PIKERS. THERE WEREN'T MANY OF THEM AROUND, BUT THEY WERE REALLY HOLY. THE TROUBLE IS THAT MATTHEW DOESN'T USE THAT WORD, AND REFERS VERY EXPLICITLY TO SOME SORT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOWN OF NAZARETH. FINALLY, SOME HAVE SPECULATED THAT MATTHEW WAS REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT JESUS WAS THE DESCENDANT OF KING DAVID, SINCE THE PROPHETS HAD PREDICTED THAT A SHOOT WOULD SPRING FROM THE STUMP OF JESSE, (WHO WAS THE FATHER OF DAVID), AND THE WORD FOR SHOOT OR BRANCH WAS NETSR. TO ME THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, BECAUSE IT FITS IN WITH WHAT MATTHEW IS DOING IN THIS WHOLE PASSAGE – PROVING FROM SCRIPTURE THAT JESUS WAS FULFILLING THE PROPHECIES.
SO WHY DO I TAKE YOU THROUGH THIS SCRIPTURE STUDY WHEN I SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THE HOLY FAMILY, OR FAMILIES IN GENERAL? WELL, I DOUBT THAT JOSEPH OR MARY WERE AT ALL CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THEIR ORDEAL, THEIR RUNNING IN FEAR FROM HEROD, THEIR EXILE IN EGYPT, THEIR HUNGER AND INSECURITY, THEIR CONSTANT AWARENESS OF THE FACT THAT THE STRANGERS THEY LIVED WITH COULD SUDDENLY DECIDE TO TURN ON THEM, WOULD SOMEDAY BE STUDIED BY MATTHEW AND SEEN TO BE AN AMAZING FULFILLMENT OF SCRIPTURE; THEY WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED HAD BEEN A PART OF GOD'S PLAN.
AND MAYBE THAT IS WHAT WE SHOULD CARRY AWAY TODAY. IN OUR OWN FAMILIES, IN OUR OWN LIVES, THERE IS JOY AND SUFFERING, PAIN AND PLEASURE, LONELINESS AND WONDERFUL COMPANIONSHIP, SEPARATION AND COMING TOGETHER. AND SOMETIMES IT SEEMS TO MAKE NO SENSE, SOMETIMES IT SEEMS AS THOUGH EVERYTHING IS RANDOM. BUT JOSEPH AND MARY PROBABLY FELT THE SAME WAY; IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THIS WAS THE WAY TO TREAT THE MESSIAH. BUT THEY NEVER LOST HOPE, THEY CONTINUED TO TRUST, BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT SOMEHOW IN GOD'S TIME EVERYTHING WOULD MAKE SENSE. AND IT WILL FOR US AS WELL.
SO LET US ASK GOD, NOT TO SHOW US HOW EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE – IF HE DID THAT, WE WOULD NOT NEED FAITH – BUT RATHER, ASK HIM TO GIVE US THE GIFT OF TRUSTING HIM, TRUSTING HIM TO USE US, TO USE OUR FAMILIES, TO FULFILL HIS PLAN. AND IN THAT TRUST WE WILL FIND JOY.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS AT LEAST OF LOOKING AT THE GOSPEL FOR THIS FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY. WE MIGHT, FOR EXAMPLE, MEDITATE ON THE ACTUAL EVENTS – THE ANGEL SPEAKING TO JOSEPH IN DREAMS, THE FLIGHT OF THE LITTLE FAMILY FROM ISRAEL INTO EGYPT; MAYBE WE COULD EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR THEM TO BE IMMIGRANTS IN A COUNTRY WHERE CUSTOMS WERE UNFAMILIAR AND THEY COULD NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. DID JOSEPH HAVE TO WORK AT ANY JOB HE COULD GET? DID THEY GO HUNGRY? WHAT KIND OF LIVING QUARTERS DID THEY HAVE? OR, PERHAPS, THEY WENT TO ONE OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN EGYPT, BECAUSE THERE WERE JEWISH COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE MEDITERRANIAN WORLD. BUT WE CERTAINLY COULD CONCLUDE THAT IT WASN'T EASY. AND WE COULD RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH WERE REFUGEES, MAYBE EVEN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS; AND WE COULD MARVEL ONCE AGAIN HOW JESUS SHARED EVERYTHING WITH US HUMAN BEINGS, EVEN THE VERY WORST PARTS OF LIFE.
BUT I THINK MATTHEW HAD A DIFFERENT INTENTION IN MIND WHEN HE DESCRIBED THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT, AND BACK AGAIN. I THINK THAT BECAUSE HE GOES TO A LOT OF TROUBLE TO MAKE SURE WE SEE THAT JESUS IS FULFILLING PROPHECY.
JOSEPH, FOR EXAMPLE, IS INSTRUCTED THROUGH DREAMS. AND WE MAY REMEMBER THAT ANOTHER JOSEPH, THE SON OF JACOB, WAS AIDED BY GOD THROUGH DREAMS WHEN HE WAS FIRST OF ALL A PRISONER OF EGYPT, AND EVENTUALLY BECAME THE PRIME MINISTER. THAT JOSEPH WAS GIVEN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT A GREAT FAMINE WAS COMING, AND BECAUSE OF THIS FOREKNOWLEDGE, JOSEPH WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIS KINSMEN WHO CAME INTO EGYPT AND EVENTUALLY FORMED THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE THE ISRAELITES. AND JOSEPH, THE FOSTER FATHER OF JESUS, PRESERVES THE LIFE OF JESUS BECAUSE OF HIS DREAMS.
THE READING TODAY LEAVES OUT THE SLAUGHTER OF THE CHILDREN THAT WAS ORDERED BY HEROD. JUST LAST WEEK ON FRIDAY WE CELEBRATED THE FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. BUT MATTHEW WANTED US TO SEE THAT JUST AS THE BIRTH OF JESUS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE TRAGEDY OF ALL THESE DEATHS, THERE WAS A SIMILAR EVENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT – THE BIRTH OF MOSES. PHAROH HAD ORDERED THAT ALL THE MALE CHILDREN OF THE ISRAELITES WOULD BE PUT TO DEATH, HIS INTENTION BEING TO STOP THE GROWTH OF THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE. MOSES ESCAPED, AND AFTER EXILE, CAME BACK TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE TO FREEDOM. JESUS, MATTHEW SUGGESTS, WILL ALSO RETURN TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE TO A NEW KIND OF FREEDOM.
MATTHEW QUOTES SCRIPTURE; HE QUOTES HOSEA THE PROPHET, WHEN HE SAYS, “OUT OF EGYPT I WILL CALL MY SON”. HOSEA WAS REFERRING TO THE ISRAELITES, THE DESCENDANTS OF THE PATRIARCH JACOB, WHO HAD BEEN GIVEN THE NAME “ISRAEL” AFTER HE WRESTLED WITH AN ANGEL. HOSEA WAS RECALLING HOW GOD HAD BROUGHT HIS PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, AND WOULD BRING THEM AGAIN OUT OF THEIR SPIRITUAL EXILE. JESUS IS THE NEW ISRAEL, AND GOD CALLS HIM OUT OF EGYPT TO BEGIN THE TASK OF FORMING A NEW PEOPLE – YOU AND I.
BUT THEN WE COME TO A MYSTERY. MATTHEW QUOTES ANOTHER PROPHECY: “HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZOREAN”. IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET ONE OF YOUR BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALIST FRIENDS NERVOUS, ASK HIM OR HER WHERE THAT QUOTE CAME FROM. THE SIMPLE FACT IS THAT THERE IS NO SUCH QUOTE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. THERE ARE THREE EXPLANATIONS FOR THIS. ONE IS THAT MATTHEW WAS QUOTING FROM A PROPHECY THAT DIDN'T ACTUALLY MAKE IT INTO THE BIBLE. SOME CATHOLIC APOLOGISTS USE THIS TO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT REVELATION IS HANDED DOWN BY TRADITION AS WELL AS THROUGH SCRIPTURE. IF THE STATEMENT IS IN MATTHEW, THEN IT IS SCRIPTURE; BUT IF MATTHEW SAYS HE GOT IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND IT ISN'T IN SCRIPTURE, THEN TRADITION MUST CARRY THE TRUTH AS WELL. ANOTHER EXPLANATION IS THAT MATTHEW IS REFERRING TO THE NAZARITES. IF YOU REMEMBER YOUR BIBLE, SAMSON, THE GUY WHO GOT BETRAYED BY DELILAH, WAS A NAZARITE. THEY TOOK OATHS NOT TO CUT THEIR HAIR, TO AVOID WINE, TO AVOID WOMEN, AND IN GENERAL, THEY MADE THE PHARISEES LOOK LIKE PIKERS. THERE WEREN'T MANY OF THEM AROUND, BUT THEY WERE REALLY HOLY. THE TROUBLE IS THAT MATTHEW DOESN'T USE THAT WORD, AND REFERS VERY EXPLICITLY TO SOME SORT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOWN OF NAZARETH. FINALLY, SOME HAVE SPECULATED THAT MATTHEW WAS REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT JESUS WAS THE DESCENDANT OF KING DAVID, SINCE THE PROPHETS HAD PREDICTED THAT A SHOOT WOULD SPRING FROM THE STUMP OF JESSE, (WHO WAS THE FATHER OF DAVID), AND THE WORD FOR SHOOT OR BRANCH WAS NETSR. TO ME THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, BECAUSE IT FITS IN WITH WHAT MATTHEW IS DOING IN THIS WHOLE PASSAGE – PROVING FROM SCRIPTURE THAT JESUS WAS FULFILLING THE PROPHECIES.
SO WHY DO I TAKE YOU THROUGH THIS SCRIPTURE STUDY WHEN I SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THE HOLY FAMILY, OR FAMILIES IN GENERAL? WELL, I DOUBT THAT JOSEPH OR MARY WERE AT ALL CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THEIR ORDEAL, THEIR RUNNING IN FEAR FROM HEROD, THEIR EXILE IN EGYPT, THEIR HUNGER AND INSECURITY, THEIR CONSTANT AWARENESS OF THE FACT THAT THE STRANGERS THEY LIVED WITH COULD SUDDENLY DECIDE TO TURN ON THEM, WOULD SOMEDAY BE STUDIED BY MATTHEW AND SEEN TO BE AN AMAZING FULFILLMENT OF SCRIPTURE; THEY WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED HAD BEEN A PART OF GOD'S PLAN.
AND MAYBE THAT IS WHAT WE SHOULD CARRY AWAY TODAY. IN OUR OWN FAMILIES, IN OUR OWN LIVES, THERE IS JOY AND SUFFERING, PAIN AND PLEASURE, LONELINESS AND WONDERFUL COMPANIONSHIP, SEPARATION AND COMING TOGETHER. AND SOMETIMES IT SEEMS TO MAKE NO SENSE, SOMETIMES IT SEEMS AS THOUGH EVERYTHING IS RANDOM. BUT JOSEPH AND MARY PROBABLY FELT THE SAME WAY; IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THIS WAS THE WAY TO TREAT THE MESSIAH. BUT THEY NEVER LOST HOPE, THEY CONTINUED TO TRUST, BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT SOMEHOW IN GOD'S TIME EVERYTHING WOULD MAKE SENSE. AND IT WILL FOR US AS WELL.
SO LET US ASK GOD, NOT TO SHOW US HOW EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE – IF HE DID THAT, WE WOULD NOT NEED FAITH – BUT RATHER, ASK HIM TO GIVE US THE GIFT OF TRUSTING HIM, TRUSTING HIM TO USE US, TO USE OUR FAMILIES, TO FULFILL HIS PLAN. AND IN THAT TRUST WE WILL FIND JOY.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Mass of Christmas Day
JOHN 1:1-5, 9-14
I LOVE EMAIL. I CAN TYPE WHAT I WANT TO TELL SOMEONE, HIT THE SEND KEY, AND KNOW THAT AT SOME POINT SHE WILL READ IT. AND THEN, WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT, I CAN READ HER REPLY. MY SISTER OUT IN RENO DOESN'T SEEM TO BE NEARLY AS BIG A FAN OF EMAIL. WHEN SHE HAS SOMETHING SHE REALLY WANTS TO TELL ME, SHE CALLS ME UP. THIS MEANS THAT I HAVE TO STOP WHAT I'M DOING, ANSWER HER QUESTIONS, ASK MY OWN, AND ON IT GOES. WHAT A MESSY WAY TO COMMUNICATE!
BUT HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY TEACHERS CONTINUE TO GIVE LECTURES, WHY CLERGY CONTINUE TO PREACH, OR WHY EVEN IN THE SUPREME COURT BEFORE THE NINE JUDGES PASS JUDGMENT, THEY ALLOW ORAL ARGUMENT? AFTER ALL, THE LAWYERS HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME METICULOUSLY WRITING DOWN ALL THE REASONS THEY THINK SUPPORT THEIR POSITION. AND THEN THEY HAVE HALF AN HOUR TO MAKE AN ORAL PRESENTATION.
THE POINT IS, AS MY SISTER RECOGNIZES MORE THAN I DO, I GUESS, THAT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ONE PERSON AND ANOTHER IS MOST PROFOUND WHEN IT CONSISTS OF WORDS THAT ARE SPOKEN AND HEARD. THE WAY I SAY SOMETHING, THE PITCH OF MY VOICE – WE ALL KNOW THAT WE CAN USE THE EXACT SAME SENTENCE TO SAY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. AND IN A DIALOG, THERE IS CONTINUED CLARIFICATION OF MEANING AS EACH PERSON ASKS QUESTIONS OF THE OTHER, UNTIL BOTH KNOW WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THE MIND OF THE OTHER, AT LEAST AS MUCH AS CAN BE KNOWN.
THE WRITTEN WORD, IN A SENSE, IS A MASK. IT IS STRIPPED OF NUANCE AND EMOTION. IT IS TRUE THAT IF YOU WANT A JUDGE TO DECIDE IN YOUR FAVOR ABOUT A CONTRACT, IT HELPS A LOT TO HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN. BUT THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MAKE A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE CONVERSATION THAT LED TO THAT CONTRACT. THE FACT REMAINS THAT IF WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF SOMEONE ELSE, WE MUST HEAR THE WORD HE SPEAKS.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WAS WRITTEN A LONG TIME AFTER CHRIST HAD DIED AND RISEN FROM THE DEAD. THERE IS EVIDENCE OF MORE THAN ONE HAND IN THE WRITING OF THE GOSPEL; PERHAPS A CORE FROM JOHN THE APOSTLE, AND SOME ADDITIONS BY SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS. BUT THIS GOSPEL, UNLIKE THE OTHER GOSPELS, SEEMS TO BE THE RESULT OF A LIFETIME OF THINKING ABOUT JESUS. WHO IS THIS JESUS? THE GOSPEL OF JOHN TRIES TO ANSWER THIS. AND THE BEST IMAGE JOHN CAN COME UP WITH IS THAT HE CALLS JESUS THE WORD, THE SINGLE WORD SPOKEN BY THE FATHER, WHO DWELLS IN SILENT MYSTERY. THE WORD HAS GONE BY OTHER NAMES; THE BOOK OF SIRACH DESCRIBES THE WORD AS WISDOM, AND PICTURES WISDOM AS PLAYING IN THE FATHER'S PRESENCE, AND BRINGING THE UNIVERSE INTO BEING. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS GOD SPEAKS AND CREATION COMES INTO BEING; GOD CREATES THROUGH THE WORD.
SO THAT IS WHY EVERYTHING IN CREATION SHOWS SOMETHING OF THE MIND OF GOD; BUT CREATION IS LIKE WRITTEN TEXT; YOU CAN CHOOSE TO READ IT OR NOT; AND WHEN YOU DO READ IT, YOU CAN INTERPRET IT IN VARIOUS WAYS. AND THAT IS WHY GOD SPOKE THE WORD THAT IS JESUS; THIS IS THE LIVING WORD, THE WORD WHICH TELLS US EXACTLY WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF GOD, THE WORD THAT IS LIFE, LIFE GIVING, AND GIVES LIGHT TO THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE WORD, LIGHT THAT ALLOWS US TO UNDERSTAND GOD AND CREATION AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO US, AS MUCH AS WE ARE ABLE; LIGHT THAT DRIVES AWAY THE DARKNESS THAT SAYS, NOTHING MATTERS, THE WORLD HAS NO MEANING, DEATH IS THE END OF EVERYTHING.
THIS WORD, THIS WINDOW INTO THE VERY LIFE OF THE TRINITY, IS STILL WITH US; THE WORD TOOK ON FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US AND STILL DOES TO THIS DAY.
SO WHERE ARE THE WISE MEN, THE SHEPHERDS, THE VIRGIN MOTHER? WHERE IS JOSEPH THE CARPENTER, THE HERALD ANGELS, THE STAR IN THE HEAVENS ON THIS COLD CHRISTMAS DAY? JOHN DOES NOT WANT US TO BE DISTRACTED, EVEN BY THESE BELOVED IMAGES. HERE IS GOD WITH US, AND THE WORD GOD SPEAKS IS A TINY BABY – THE FATHER TRUSTS US WITH HIS SON; A TINY BABY – THE FATHER WANTS OUR LOVE, AND WHO IS THERE THAT DOES NOT LOVE A BABY? A TINY BABY – THE FATHER, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS BEEN DISOBEYED, REJECTED, EVEN THOUGH HIS CHILDREN HAVE TURNED AGAINST HIM TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THE BABY IS A PROMISE THAT GOD WILL NEVER STOP TRYING, NEVER STOP OFFERING US COMPLETE UNION WITH HIMSELF, JOY FOR ALL ETERNITY. A TINY BABY – THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE THAT WILL END ON EASTER SUNDAY, BUT IN A SENSE, WILL NEVER END – THE WORD THAT GOD SPEAKS WILL ECHO DOWN THROUGH ALL OF TIME.
IN THE OLDEN DAYS, THE VERY LAST THING THAT HAPPENED IN THE MASS WAS THE PROCLAMATION OF THE FIRST FEW VERSES OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN – WHAT YOU JUST HEARD. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, IT WAS PROCLAIMED IN LATIN, SO IT DIDN'T MEAN MUCH. BUT SOMETIME, READ IT OUT LOUD, OR HAVE IT READ TO YOU. TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS, AND LET THEM WORK IN YOU AS THE MUST HAVE WORKED IN OUR ANCESTORS WHO NEVER TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT THE WORD, THE WORD WHO WAS WITH GOD, THE WORD WHO WAS GOD, WHO WAS THERE AT THE CREATION, WHO TOOK ON FLESH, WHO LIVED WITH US, AND WHO GIVES LIFE AND LIGHT TO THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM. THEY ARE POWERFUL LIFE CHANGING WORDS. BUT THEY ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE WORD OF WHICH THEY SPEAK, THE TINY BABY LYING IN THE MANGER. .
I LOVE EMAIL. I CAN TYPE WHAT I WANT TO TELL SOMEONE, HIT THE SEND KEY, AND KNOW THAT AT SOME POINT SHE WILL READ IT. AND THEN, WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT, I CAN READ HER REPLY. MY SISTER OUT IN RENO DOESN'T SEEM TO BE NEARLY AS BIG A FAN OF EMAIL. WHEN SHE HAS SOMETHING SHE REALLY WANTS TO TELL ME, SHE CALLS ME UP. THIS MEANS THAT I HAVE TO STOP WHAT I'M DOING, ANSWER HER QUESTIONS, ASK MY OWN, AND ON IT GOES. WHAT A MESSY WAY TO COMMUNICATE!
BUT HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY TEACHERS CONTINUE TO GIVE LECTURES, WHY CLERGY CONTINUE TO PREACH, OR WHY EVEN IN THE SUPREME COURT BEFORE THE NINE JUDGES PASS JUDGMENT, THEY ALLOW ORAL ARGUMENT? AFTER ALL, THE LAWYERS HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME METICULOUSLY WRITING DOWN ALL THE REASONS THEY THINK SUPPORT THEIR POSITION. AND THEN THEY HAVE HALF AN HOUR TO MAKE AN ORAL PRESENTATION.
THE POINT IS, AS MY SISTER RECOGNIZES MORE THAN I DO, I GUESS, THAT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ONE PERSON AND ANOTHER IS MOST PROFOUND WHEN IT CONSISTS OF WORDS THAT ARE SPOKEN AND HEARD. THE WAY I SAY SOMETHING, THE PITCH OF MY VOICE – WE ALL KNOW THAT WE CAN USE THE EXACT SAME SENTENCE TO SAY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. AND IN A DIALOG, THERE IS CONTINUED CLARIFICATION OF MEANING AS EACH PERSON ASKS QUESTIONS OF THE OTHER, UNTIL BOTH KNOW WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THE MIND OF THE OTHER, AT LEAST AS MUCH AS CAN BE KNOWN.
THE WRITTEN WORD, IN A SENSE, IS A MASK. IT IS STRIPPED OF NUANCE AND EMOTION. IT IS TRUE THAT IF YOU WANT A JUDGE TO DECIDE IN YOUR FAVOR ABOUT A CONTRACT, IT HELPS A LOT TO HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN. BUT THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MAKE A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE CONVERSATION THAT LED TO THAT CONTRACT. THE FACT REMAINS THAT IF WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF SOMEONE ELSE, WE MUST HEAR THE WORD HE SPEAKS.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WAS WRITTEN A LONG TIME AFTER CHRIST HAD DIED AND RISEN FROM THE DEAD. THERE IS EVIDENCE OF MORE THAN ONE HAND IN THE WRITING OF THE GOSPEL; PERHAPS A CORE FROM JOHN THE APOSTLE, AND SOME ADDITIONS BY SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS. BUT THIS GOSPEL, UNLIKE THE OTHER GOSPELS, SEEMS TO BE THE RESULT OF A LIFETIME OF THINKING ABOUT JESUS. WHO IS THIS JESUS? THE GOSPEL OF JOHN TRIES TO ANSWER THIS. AND THE BEST IMAGE JOHN CAN COME UP WITH IS THAT HE CALLS JESUS THE WORD, THE SINGLE WORD SPOKEN BY THE FATHER, WHO DWELLS IN SILENT MYSTERY. THE WORD HAS GONE BY OTHER NAMES; THE BOOK OF SIRACH DESCRIBES THE WORD AS WISDOM, AND PICTURES WISDOM AS PLAYING IN THE FATHER'S PRESENCE, AND BRINGING THE UNIVERSE INTO BEING. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS GOD SPEAKS AND CREATION COMES INTO BEING; GOD CREATES THROUGH THE WORD.
SO THAT IS WHY EVERYTHING IN CREATION SHOWS SOMETHING OF THE MIND OF GOD; BUT CREATION IS LIKE WRITTEN TEXT; YOU CAN CHOOSE TO READ IT OR NOT; AND WHEN YOU DO READ IT, YOU CAN INTERPRET IT IN VARIOUS WAYS. AND THAT IS WHY GOD SPOKE THE WORD THAT IS JESUS; THIS IS THE LIVING WORD, THE WORD WHICH TELLS US EXACTLY WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF GOD, THE WORD THAT IS LIFE, LIFE GIVING, AND GIVES LIGHT TO THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE WORD, LIGHT THAT ALLOWS US TO UNDERSTAND GOD AND CREATION AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO US, AS MUCH AS WE ARE ABLE; LIGHT THAT DRIVES AWAY THE DARKNESS THAT SAYS, NOTHING MATTERS, THE WORLD HAS NO MEANING, DEATH IS THE END OF EVERYTHING.
THIS WORD, THIS WINDOW INTO THE VERY LIFE OF THE TRINITY, IS STILL WITH US; THE WORD TOOK ON FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US AND STILL DOES TO THIS DAY.
SO WHERE ARE THE WISE MEN, THE SHEPHERDS, THE VIRGIN MOTHER? WHERE IS JOSEPH THE CARPENTER, THE HERALD ANGELS, THE STAR IN THE HEAVENS ON THIS COLD CHRISTMAS DAY? JOHN DOES NOT WANT US TO BE DISTRACTED, EVEN BY THESE BELOVED IMAGES. HERE IS GOD WITH US, AND THE WORD GOD SPEAKS IS A TINY BABY – THE FATHER TRUSTS US WITH HIS SON; A TINY BABY – THE FATHER WANTS OUR LOVE, AND WHO IS THERE THAT DOES NOT LOVE A BABY? A TINY BABY – THE FATHER, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS BEEN DISOBEYED, REJECTED, EVEN THOUGH HIS CHILDREN HAVE TURNED AGAINST HIM TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THE BABY IS A PROMISE THAT GOD WILL NEVER STOP TRYING, NEVER STOP OFFERING US COMPLETE UNION WITH HIMSELF, JOY FOR ALL ETERNITY. A TINY BABY – THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE THAT WILL END ON EASTER SUNDAY, BUT IN A SENSE, WILL NEVER END – THE WORD THAT GOD SPEAKS WILL ECHO DOWN THROUGH ALL OF TIME.
IN THE OLDEN DAYS, THE VERY LAST THING THAT HAPPENED IN THE MASS WAS THE PROCLAMATION OF THE FIRST FEW VERSES OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN – WHAT YOU JUST HEARD. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, IT WAS PROCLAIMED IN LATIN, SO IT DIDN'T MEAN MUCH. BUT SOMETIME, READ IT OUT LOUD, OR HAVE IT READ TO YOU. TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS, AND LET THEM WORK IN YOU AS THE MUST HAVE WORKED IN OUR ANCESTORS WHO NEVER TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT THE WORD, THE WORD WHO WAS WITH GOD, THE WORD WHO WAS GOD, WHO WAS THERE AT THE CREATION, WHO TOOK ON FLESH, WHO LIVED WITH US, AND WHO GIVES LIFE AND LIGHT TO THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM. THEY ARE POWERFUL LIFE CHANGING WORDS. BUT THEY ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE WORD OF WHICH THEY SPEAK, THE TINY BABY LYING IN THE MANGER. .
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